Ayubowan! That's Welcome in Sinhalese :)
I started my new year with a trip to Srilanka and had to post my experience when it is still fresh in my mind.
Srilanka is a very warm and tourist friendly country .We flew by Srilankan Airlines, the flying time was only 1 hour from Kochi International airport. By the way, the Bandaranaike International Airport is located in Katunayake , which is near Negombo and there is a 1 hour drive to Colombo. ( I always thought the airport was located in Colombo) .
The roads are pretty decent and hence the drive is not tiring at all.For moving around we used the Tuk Tuks ( our autorickshaws :)!!) .Unlike our autos, the tuk tuks come in many colors like pink , green, red , purple etc
You have to bargain with the drivers before the journey as they tend to ask for higher charges. You can find Tata Nanos are used as budget taxis in Srilanka ( by the way our Tata nano costs a whopping 10 laks Srilankan rupees !!) . these taxis have meters on them so you can just give them the meter charge.
The period from November to April is the driest season on the south west coast and up in the hills and this is the best time to see the beach areas and the tea estates and spice gardens.
Food is very similar to Kerala cuisine. Srilankans usually have rice and curry and their curries are usually prepared with coconut milk. Breakfast specialties are Hopper(appams), String hoppers ( Kerala iddiappam), Pittu (similar to Kerala Puttu) etc. These are taken with vegetable or non vegetarian stews.
And about the drinks my husband enjoyed the local Srilankan arrack Old Reserve.And ofcourse tender coconut water for me :), known as King coconut in Srilanka. One should not forget the famous Srilankan tea which is really good .
We visited Colombo , Hikkaduwa , Galle, Nuwara Eliya , Kandy and Negombo.
Colombo:The largest city in Srilanka and indeed it is ! We had airport taxi pick up from the hotel Casa Colombo. This is a boutique hotel with only 12 suit rooms. We stayed in Chatham Street Suite. I must say the room is refreshingly different from the other hotels and a different experience. However their food menu is not vast but if you like to eat and try out different cuisines there are plenty of joints and restaurants nearby the hotel and there is always someone ready to help you in case you have any queries. You must try the local sweet dish Watalappan or Watalappam (something like a coconut custard made of coconut and palm sugar ) . Its really good dessert. We walked along the Galle Face beach in Colombo. You can find many hotels like Taj Samudra , Cinnamon Grand and Hilton . If you like sea facing locality then you can opt to stay there too . For shopping in Colombo you can find few malls. But the one I liked the best was ODEL. A visit to Colombo National Museum is fun too !
We had lunch at a restaurant in Cinnamon Grande hotel. The hotel has few good restaurants and they have a beautiful view and ambience.But since we weren't so hungry we had heavy snacks at the Breeze Bar of the hotel. There is also a shopping mall next to the hotel.
We had dinner at the the Gallery Café, is unlike any other restaurant in Sri Lanka,situated within the former office of Sri Lanka's renowned architect, Geoffrey Bawa.The ambience is very good and the menu does not have much local cuisine and has more international choices but I must tell you that their Double Chocolate Cheesecake is to die for !! One of the best cheesecakes we have ever had!
That was Colombo for us .
Next, we headed to Hikkaduwa and Galle with a local freind of my husband's. He was with us throughout which was a great help. We hired a car for the rest of the journey.
Hikkaduwa-Galle: The drive from Colombo to Galle takes about 3 hours and its a very good drive as you can see the beautiful coastal belt here. This drive also shows the effect of Tsunami in these areas. I must say its amazing how the Srilankans recovered from the disaster.Here we stayed at Chaaya Tranz hotel, Hikkaduwa which has an excellent private beach and very good rooms. All rooms are sea facing and the view is good. Beach is fantastic for swimming as well as snorkling. We took the glass boat ride which gives us a view of the corals and fishes underwater. There is a restaurant named Crab inside the hotel which has only crab dishes in the menu , We tried the Srilankan King Crab Curry which was really good !
We visited the Kosgoda Sea Turtle Hatchery in Galle District .This is also a huge tourist attraction. This was founded to protect the Srilankan turtles from extinction. Visitors can see huge tanks filled with new born turtle hatchlings. After being fed, the baby turtles are taken to the sea and released when they are 2-4 days old, usually during the safer hours of darkness. Although October to April is the main laying season, some eggs can be found at Kosgoda throughout the year. Also saw a 71- year old turtle who lost its limb in the tsunami. Its unable to move now! Then we headed to see the Galle Fort , which was first built by the Portuguese later modified by the Dutch during the 17th century. We saw the sunset up from the fort which was beautiful. A walk along the Galle town is good where you can see the wonderful colonial architecture.
Next up the tea estate at Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya: The drive from Galle to Nuwara Eliya was 6 hours. Nuwara Eliya is a mountain station at 1,868 m (6,128 ft) of altitude, in a splendid landscape, hence it is cold up there. Nuwara Eliya was built entirely during the 19th century and its architecture mimics that of an English country town. The drive is hectic as it is hilly area but the view is breath taking.We stayed in the Grand Hotel which has an excellent architectural structure and is also the former mansion of Sir Edward Barnes who was the Governor of Sri Lanka during 1830-1850. We went up there only to see the tea estates and we visited the Mackbrookes Tea plantation. I feel this place can be avoided unless you are keen on seeing hillstations.
Kandy: The distance from Nuwara Eliya and Kandy is 77 kms. A city in the center of Srilanka, Also known as hill capital of Srilanka. Kandy is famous for the Temple of Tooth, where Buddhas one tooth is being kept.Its a nice experience to visit. Kandy is also good for shopping. We got only one day in Kandy , We got lucky to visit the National Seminary of Kandy. We satyed at Amaya Hills which is located 7 kms away from city on the hill top which gives us a breath taking view from our room.
Last but not the least, on route to Negombo we visited the Pinnwela Elephant orphanage which is a huge tourist attraction. The daily highlight is the walk from the Orphanage down to the river to bathe the elephants. It's amazing to watch an entire herd splashing around and rolling in the river, just a few feet in front of you!
We decided to stay in Negombo in a place close to the airport and just took a stroll along the Negombo beach. Well that was Srilanka for us. My final verdict, a good holiday and Srilankans hospitality is warm and welcoming!
I started my new year with a trip to Srilanka and had to post my experience when it is still fresh in my mind.
The roads are pretty decent and hence the drive is not tiring at all.For moving around we used the Tuk Tuks ( our autorickshaws :)!!) .Unlike our autos, the tuk tuks come in many colors like pink , green, red , purple etc
You have to bargain with the drivers before the journey as they tend to ask for higher charges. You can find Tata Nanos are used as budget taxis in Srilanka ( by the way our Tata nano costs a whopping 10 laks Srilankan rupees !!) . these taxis have meters on them so you can just give them the meter charge.
The period from November to April is the driest season on the south west coast and up in the hills and this is the best time to see the beach areas and the tea estates and spice gardens.
Food is very similar to Kerala cuisine. Srilankans usually have rice and curry and their curries are usually prepared with coconut milk. Breakfast specialties are Hopper(appams), String hoppers ( Kerala iddiappam), Pittu (similar to Kerala Puttu) etc. These are taken with vegetable or non vegetarian stews.
And about the drinks my husband enjoyed the local Srilankan arrack Old Reserve.And ofcourse tender coconut water for me :), known as King coconut in Srilanka. One should not forget the famous Srilankan tea which is really good .
We visited Colombo , Hikkaduwa , Galle, Nuwara Eliya , Kandy and Negombo.
Colombo:The largest city in Srilanka and indeed it is ! We had airport taxi pick up from the hotel Casa Colombo. This is a boutique hotel with only 12 suit rooms. We stayed in Chatham Street Suite. I must say the room is refreshingly different from the other hotels and a different experience. However their food menu is not vast but if you like to eat and try out different cuisines there are plenty of joints and restaurants nearby the hotel and there is always someone ready to help you in case you have any queries. You must try the local sweet dish Watalappan or Watalappam (something like a coconut custard made of coconut and palm sugar ) . Its really good dessert. We walked along the Galle Face beach in Colombo. You can find many hotels like Taj Samudra , Cinnamon Grand and Hilton . If you like sea facing locality then you can opt to stay there too . For shopping in Colombo you can find few malls. But the one I liked the best was ODEL. A visit to Colombo National Museum is fun too !
We had lunch at a restaurant in Cinnamon Grande hotel. The hotel has few good restaurants and they have a beautiful view and ambience.But since we weren't so hungry we had heavy snacks at the Breeze Bar of the hotel. There is also a shopping mall next to the hotel.
We had dinner at the the Gallery Café, is unlike any other restaurant in Sri Lanka,situated within the former office of Sri Lanka's renowned architect, Geoffrey Bawa.The ambience is very good and the menu does not have much local cuisine and has more international choices but I must tell you that their Double Chocolate Cheesecake is to die for !! One of the best cheesecakes we have ever had!
That was Colombo for us .
Next, we headed to Hikkaduwa and Galle with a local freind of my husband's. He was with us throughout which was a great help. We hired a car for the rest of the journey.
Hikkaduwa-Galle: The drive from Colombo to Galle takes about 3 hours and its a very good drive as you can see the beautiful coastal belt here. This drive also shows the effect of Tsunami in these areas. I must say its amazing how the Srilankans recovered from the disaster.Here we stayed at Chaaya Tranz hotel, Hikkaduwa which has an excellent private beach and very good rooms. All rooms are sea facing and the view is good. Beach is fantastic for swimming as well as snorkling. We took the glass boat ride which gives us a view of the corals and fishes underwater. There is a restaurant named Crab inside the hotel which has only crab dishes in the menu , We tried the Srilankan King Crab Curry which was really good !
We visited the Kosgoda Sea Turtle Hatchery in Galle District .This is also a huge tourist attraction. This was founded to protect the Srilankan turtles from extinction. Visitors can see huge tanks filled with new born turtle hatchlings. After being fed, the baby turtles are taken to the sea and released when they are 2-4 days old, usually during the safer hours of darkness. Although October to April is the main laying season, some eggs can be found at Kosgoda throughout the year. Also saw a 71- year old turtle who lost its limb in the tsunami. Its unable to move now! Then we headed to see the Galle Fort , which was first built by the Portuguese later modified by the Dutch during the 17th century. We saw the sunset up from the fort which was beautiful. A walk along the Galle town is good where you can see the wonderful colonial architecture.
Next up the tea estate at Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya: The drive from Galle to Nuwara Eliya was 6 hours. Nuwara Eliya is a mountain station at 1,868 m (6,128 ft) of altitude, in a splendid landscape, hence it is cold up there. Nuwara Eliya was built entirely during the 19th century and its architecture mimics that of an English country town. The drive is hectic as it is hilly area but the view is breath taking.We stayed in the Grand Hotel which has an excellent architectural structure and is also the former mansion of Sir Edward Barnes who was the Governor of Sri Lanka during 1830-1850. We went up there only to see the tea estates and we visited the Mackbrookes Tea plantation. I feel this place can be avoided unless you are keen on seeing hillstations.
Kandy: The distance from Nuwara Eliya and Kandy is 77 kms. A city in the center of Srilanka, Also known as hill capital of Srilanka. Kandy is famous for the Temple of Tooth, where Buddhas one tooth is being kept.Its a nice experience to visit. Kandy is also good for shopping. We got only one day in Kandy , We got lucky to visit the National Seminary of Kandy. We satyed at Amaya Hills which is located 7 kms away from city on the hill top which gives us a breath taking view from our room.
Last but not the least, on route to Negombo we visited the Pinnwela Elephant orphanage which is a huge tourist attraction. The daily highlight is the walk from the Orphanage down to the river to bathe the elephants. It's amazing to watch an entire herd splashing around and rolling in the river, just a few feet in front of you!
We decided to stay in Negombo in a place close to the airport and just took a stroll along the Negombo beach. Well that was Srilanka for us. My final verdict, a good holiday and Srilankans hospitality is warm and welcoming!
